HP Rolls Out Enterprise-Focused Managed Print Services

Hewlett-Packard's Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) has beefed up its HP Managed Print Services (MPS) business with a new services delivery platform called the HP MPS Smart Decision Suite, IPG chief Vyomesh Joshi said Wednesday.

"We wanted to make sure we provided global, scalable solutions to customers," said Joshi, executive vice president of HP's IPG, at a press conference in San Francisco. "We wanted to make sure we were proactive and in fact predictive. We wanted to make sure we could implement all that and integrate it into customers' IT systems. Being the No. 1 IT company in the world, we believe we have the world class solution to do this."

Existing HP MPS customers like Disney and FedEx Office will incorporate the new services delivery platform in their Managed Print Services environment beginning in June. The Smart Decision Suite will also be made available to new HP MPS customers at that time.

In addition to the HP MPS Smart Decision Suite, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based computing giant on Wednesday introduced its ePrint Enterprise mobile printing package and HP Access Control Printing Solutions, a new print security and compliance offering to be sold through the company's solution provider partner channel.

"What we have done is look at the top 5,000 accounts that we take direct and below that, it's all channel," said Joshi, explaining that HP would maintain direct MPS engagements with its largest enterprise accounts -- many inherited with the 2008 acquisition of EDS " while providing channel partners with similar tools for other verticals and market segments.

"Globally, we provide the tools to our channel," he said. "In the U.S., for example, Synnex and CDW have the capability to work with customers [on MPS engagements] and in Europe also. Printing-as-a-Service is becoming a reality and the channel is a huge part of that."

HP Access Control Printing Solutions includes software tools that manage access to printing devices for security and compliance, as well as software that tracks and monitors device and document usage with an eye towards improving efficiency and saving customers money.

For the general public, HP's new ePrint Enterprise offering will likely be the most recognizable. The company has already begun running advertisements spotlighting the ePrint technology that allows mobile users to print remotely using just their smartphone. That neat trick is the based on HP CloudPrint technology and is the first major offering to result from the strategic alliance announced in 2009 between HP and Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry smartphone.

HP's enterprise customers now offering ePrint services to their customers include the Hilton Worldwide hotel and resort chain and FedEx Office, which is implementing ePrint at more than 1,800 retail locations.